Residents of a small Cornish village are grieving after a garden mascot called Julian Giraffe was destroyed in an act of vandalism.
Valerie Grace Boakes, of Crowlas, near Penzance, built the figure by hand more than ten years ago with help from her late husband. Since then, the homemade giraffe had been peeping over her garden wall for passersby to enjoy.
On Saturday night (August 15), Julian Giraffe, named after Julian Fennessy of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation in Namibia, was destroyed. "I built him from scratch and hopefully I'll create another in due time," said Valerie. "I can't understand why people would do this."
"My heart and soul went into creating Julian and my husband helped with the final stages of creating a firm base and 'hoiking' him into place peeping over the wall," she continued. "Sadly my husband died just over two years ago and I know that he would be as devastated as I am."
Since news of Julian's demise spread, the local community has shown a huge outpouring of love, with many saying how he brought joy to their day. Some suggested a fundraiser for repairs or a new version of the beloved animal.
"I'm so sorry to see this," wrote Helen Squire in response to Valerie's Facebook post. "Ten years of Julian Giraffe quietly peeping over the hedge, bringing a smile to so many, and then this—one senseless act that's taken that away. It's hard not to feel angry and deeply disappointed that someone would choose to destroy something made with such care and creativity."
Anne Short called the act "pointless," saying whoever did it was "really pathetic and mindless." She added: "Hope the perpetrators are caught and they can be responsible for this stupid act of criminal damage."
Following the support, Valerie said: "I am overwhelmed with all the wonderful comments and support, I thank you all. The vandalism has been reported to the police, who have not yet responded but I'm hopeful that the culprits will eventually be named and shamed. I now know one of the names of the lads involved and I want to let you know that they are not local to this area so rest easy. I have thought about setting up a 'GoFundMe' page to re-build and reinstate a new 'Julian' but at this stage I'm resisting, in fact, I'm ever hopeful the costs will be met by the offenders. I will keep you updated with the ongoing investigations. In the meantime, please be patient, he will be back. Thanks again."
Pictures below show Julian in all his glory before the destruction and images of what is sadly left of him.
Julian Giraffe Vandalism Leaves Crowlas Community in Mourning